Sounders my heart

Photo Credit: Mark Harrison, The Seattle Times

I used to congratulate myself for finding a husband who wasn’t a sports fanatic. You know, someone who wouldn’t plan his schedule around “the game”, complain about having to miss “the game”, or build a man-cave dedicated to his team. This was all before Seattle brought a professional soccer team to the city, and turned my husband into the man he is today. Well, he doesn’t have his man-cave (yet) but March through November are dedicated to the Seattle Sounders.

Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy watching soccer too, just not to the extent he does. The first season the Sounders were in existence, we were partial-season ticket holders – we had tickets to half the games. The ownership did away with the partial-season ticket package after the Sounders’ inaugural year, so we decided to go all in and get the full-season ticket package. I don’t regret it – the home games are spaced about every other week, so I don’t get tired of going. Plus, we biked to the games during the summer and played active Seattleites!

One great thing about Mark’s new(er) love for professional soccer is the friendly rivalry it created between him and my brother, Richard. Richard is one of the biggest soccer fans you’ll meet, so now Mark and Richard have plenty to talk about (or trash talk about). I love that the two most important men in my life have this in common.

The Sounders are in the playoffs right now, and hopefully by next week they’ll still be in contention – we’ll know by Sunday. Go Seattle!

Ramping up for the second season

Mark's favorite time of year is almost here! The Seattle Sounders FC will kick off their second season at the end of the month against the Philadelphia Union, the league's newest expansion team.

I'm ready for Thursday's pre-season game against the Portland Timbers - we just picked up my Sounders jersey on Saturday. I'm excited to have a "uniform" to wear to every game this year.

Do you like my newest dye job? :) Just kidding.

Sounders still undefeated

Today Mark and I drove to the George and the Dragon an hour early in order to secure prime spots for the Sounders FC's match against Toronto. It felt a little weird to order beer at noon; I don't think our bodies were ready for alcohol that early. Especially since we had eaten oatmeal half an hour before we arrived. We've been at the G&D for all three games of the season, but there was definitely a difference in today's game. Today marked the Sounders' first away game, so all the season ticket holders had come to the G&D to watch the match since they couldn't go to Qwest Field. You could tell who they were by their green scarves and their initiative to lead chants! It was quite exciting and made for a festive atmosphere, especially when the Sounders claimed a 2-0 victory. Seattle still holds undefeated bragging rights and every game has been a shutout. It's fun to actually support a winning Seattle team. The Seahawks continue to struggle, the Mariners lack pitchers, and Oklahoma claimed the Sonics. Beyond them we only have college sports, and I'm not prepared to throw my fan weight behind a bunch of 20-year-olds.